


Settling Period

by TrishaCollins



Series: A Place To Belong [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, I just wanted to write fluff, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 05:29:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14784419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrishaCollins/pseuds/TrishaCollins
Summary: After arriving on the Castle, Lotor takes some well deserved time to settle while on the way to meet with the Blade.





	Settling Period

He woke, drowsy, with Narti’s sleep projection soothing away any nightmare before it could start. Keith was pressed against his chest, breathing from his mouth because his nose was compressed. Acxa was snuggled into his back, one arm tossed over both of them, chest vibrating in a sleeping purr.

 

Ezor was sprawled over their legs, somehow managing to make contact with everyone curled up in the same space as her, one arm woven through Narti’s legs, head pillowed on Zethrid’s stomach.

 

He considered extracting himself from the curl of warmth around him, but it seemed like too much effort for too little reward. He settled for shifting a bit to uncover more of Keith’s face and let his eyes drift closed again.

 

It was late, or it was early, but there were no alarms that demanded wakefulness. He would cling to the brief peace while it lasted.

 

Acxa shifted, mouthing at Keith’s shoulder in her sleep, and the smaller half-galra grumbled, rubbing his head against hers before uttering a soft chirp and a fainter purr.

 

They were his, and while a part of him still regarded acknowledging that as a risk, he could not deny them or himself.

 

He sighed softly, stroking a lazy hand over first Keith, then Acxa. They smelled like themselves, with little notes of shared scent that revealed their relation, and other notes that indicated that they were part of his group.

 

He doubted the humans could pick it up, that any of them knew that the intermingled scents meant something, but they did.

 

They represented a risk and a strength. A Galra pack. He wondered what their new allies would make of them.

 

He rubbed his face briefly against Keith’s, then slowly untangled himself from them, easing out of the pile of limbs.

 

Ezor made a small unhappy noise, and Keith hung on until he gently unwound his fingers. He did not wish to wake them, they had spent the last weeks dealing with the fallout of Zarkon’s rage and Haggar’s frustration.

 

His escape held a high cost. He dressed quickly, letting the comfort of the Altean clothes relax his spirit as he relaxed his mind into the act of wearing them, and stroke out of the room.

 

Allura and Shiro were both on the bridge, talking quietly, but neither looked bothered by his presence.

 

Coran must be sleeping, as well as the other Paladins. Holt had decided that they should not challenge the Blade with too many cooks in the kitchen – a charming human expression that he was still trying to make sense of – and had returned to his people until they had successfully made contact.

 

“So what do you think?” Shiro asked, after long enough of silence that Allura had settled into one of the chairs, fingers dancing over the console.

 

“I think it would have served you better to leave us somewhere, for I believe they will be made rather uneasy by my presence.”

 

Allura chuckled. “Well. If we can put up with you, so can they.” The words held no malice, only an edge of teasing.

 

“I only mean that they might think it a trap.” He stretched his arms out behind himself, settling a hip against the controls. “You do have a rather high ranking Galra on your ship.”

 

“Half.” Allura corrected, and shrugged. “And if they’re as good spies as they claim, then surely they’ve heard the broadcasts. Zarkon has made no secret of the fact that he wants you dead.”

 

He hmmed in response, glancing at Shiro. “Perhaps they will not even answer our hail.”

 

“IT seems just as likely that they’ll be curious enough to talk with us. Ulaz saved me – and then he saved all of us, at the cost of his life.”

 

It still baffled him that someone had managed to stay alive and spy in such a close position to Haggar, but it made him respect the skills of these Blades. Whatever they were, whatever they intended, they were clearly against Zarkon. “Perhaps. I just worry that I might hurt your- our – chances.”

 

“If they cannot deal with one of us, they cannot deal with any of us.” Allura shrugged, pragmatic. “We can smooth feathers, but if we change ourselves to be their ally, then we are not much of an ally.”

 

“Well, at least you will present a united front. I doubt they will have much fondness for me.” He smiled, spreading his hands. “But I am willing to take that risk with you.”

 

Allura smiled. “Besides, you at least have some idea about Galra politics. My knowledge is ten thousand years out of date.”

 

He laughed a bit. “Remembered, Princess, I have been exiled from court for some time, and when I left I was only a child.”

 

Shiro laughed a bit. “Well, yours is better than ours. I was a prisoner, and Allura was well versed so long ago that it might as well be another country entirely.”

 

He wished he had known Allura’s empire, she rarely spoke of it, but he knew her girlhood had been spent as a treasured emissary between Altea and Daibazaal. Her father had written of it, and his faith in King Alfor’s words and character were absolute.

 

“It should be another few Varga before we arrive at our destination, Lotor.” Allura said gently. “Why not get more rest? You had the late watch last night.”  

 

“I wanted to look over my notes before we arrived, what little you had gleaned from Ulaz before he had died.” As much as he might long to return to the nest and his sleeping…companions, he needed to be a part of things. He needed to make certain his had secured their future.

 

“As you wish.” Allura answered, turning back to her own work.

 

He watched her for a moment, glancing to Shiro where the paladin had seated himself in his seat. It was a large seat for the human, and he knew that it had once been his father’s. He felt no desire for it, no inclination to challenge for it.

 

Shiro was welcome to the damn thing, for all he cared. He wanted nothing that had ever been Zarkon’s.

 

Keith found him several varga later, placing a tray of food on his workstation without comment before he went to do the same to Shiro.

 

He watched the Red paladin go fondly, observing as he and Shiro exchanged a few words. There was old warmth there, and he could not find within himself a single iota of displeasure that it existed. He felt, perhaps, that between the movements that Holt had spent with them and Keith’s connection to his team that he might be claiming them all for his own.

 

He wondered what the dear princess would think if he admitted to that, with the history she fought with behind her, but he thought perhaps that things would eventually be alright.


End file.
